Monday, March 17, 2014 8:06 PM

As a tear falls from seventh-grader Maddie Nelson's eye, left, friend and classmate Abbey Zayan, 12, holds her closely as the two commemorate the life of late Linden Middle School gym teacher Andy Kargel alongside several hundred community members and students at a memorial service Monday, March 17, 2014 at Linden High School auditorium. "He is and always will be an amazing man," Nelson said. "Mr. Kargel was my role model. I will always have the memory of him scaring me in the halls, and how he always brought a smile to my face." Jake May | MLive.com